How to Watch Indiana Basketball Against Illinois Saturday (2024)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – No. 10 Illinois hosts Indiana on Saturday in an important conference matchups for both sides.

Following a 96-91 overtime loss at Northwestern on Wednesday, the Illini are looking to keep pace with Purdue, Wisconsin and Northwestern in the Big Ten title race. On the other side, Indiana, losers of three of its last four games, must start picking up quality wins to build an NCAA Tournament resume.

***LIVE BLOG: Once the game starts, CLICK HERE to read our live blog written by Jack Ankony, including live updates, highlights and thoughts on the game.

How to watch Indiana vs. Illinois

• Who: Indiana Hoosiers (12-7, 4-4, t-6th in Big Ten, ) vs. No. 10 Illinois Fighting Illini (14-5, 5-3, t-3rd in Big Ten)
• What: Big Ten matchup
• When: 3 p.m. ET on Saturday, Jan. 27
• Where: State Farm Center (15,544) in Champaign, Ill.
• TV: FOX
• Announcers:Jason Benetti (play-by-play), Robbie Hummel (analyst)
• Live stream: fuboTV (Start your free trial)
• Radio: IU Radio Network (Bloomington - 105.1 WHCC-FM, Indianapolis: 107.5 WFNI-FM or 1070 WFNI-AM, or see media guide for other radio affiliates)
• Radio announcers: Don Fischer (play-by-play), Errek Suhr (color), John Herrick (pregame, halftime, postgame)
• Point spread: Illinois is a 12.5-point favorite, and the over/under is 153.5 points as of Friday afternoon.
• Recent results: Indiana lost 87-66 at home to No. 2 Purdue on Jan. 16, then lost 91-79 at Wisconsin on Jan. 19. Illinois won 86-63 at home against Rutgers on Sunday, then lost 96-91 in overtime at Northwestern on Wednesday.
• Home, road, neutral trends: Indiana is 9-2 at home, 1-3 on the road and 2-2 at neutral sites. Illinois is 10-2 at home, 2-3 on the road and 2-0 at neutral sites.
• Last season: Indiana went 23-12 overall and finished tied for second in the Big Ten with a 12-8 conference record. The Hoosiers earned a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament and lost to No. 5 seed Miami in the Round of 32. Illinois went 20-13 overall and finished tied for fifth in the Big Ten with an 11-9 conference record. The Illini earned a No. 9 seed in the NCAA Tournament and lost 73-63 to No. 8 seed Arkansas in the Round of 64.
• Last meeting: No. 14 Indiana defeated Illinois 71-68 on Feb. 18, 2023 at Assembly Hall in Bloomington. Illinois led by three points at halftime, but Trayce Jackson-Davis powered Indiana with 26 points, 12 rebounds, five blocks, three assists and two steals. Three other Hoosiers – Jalen Hood-Schifino, Race Thompson and Miller Kopp – scored in double figures. Matthew Mayer led Illinois with 24 points, but the Illini shot just 39.3% from the field.
• Series history: Indiana leads the all-time series, 96-91. Mike Woodson is 3-1 against Illinois, including a three-game win streak, and Brad Underwood has a 5-6 record against Indiana. The Hoosiers are 12-8 in the last 20 matchups overall, but just 6-14 in the last 20 games in Champaign. The largest margin of victory in this series was a 107-67 Indiana victory in 1974.

Leading scorers

• Indiana Hoosiers
• F Malik Reneau: 16.5 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 2.9 apg, 40.6 3-pt FG%
• C Kel'el Ware: 14.2 ppg, 9.4 rpg, 1.6 bpg, 41.7 3-pt FG%
• F Mackenzie Mgbako: 10.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 34.2 3-pt FG%
• G Trey Galloway: 10.6 ppg, 3.9 apg, 29.7 3-pt FG%
• Illinois Fighting Illini
• G Terrence Shannon Jr.: 20.5 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 37.0 3-pt FG%
• G/F Marcus Domask: 15.1 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 23.1 3-pt FG%
• F Coleman Hawkins: 12.0 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 36.4 3-pt FG%
• G/F Quincy Guerrier: 11.8 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 32.8 3-pt FG%

KenPom rankings

Projected score: Illinois 86, Indiana 71. KenPom gives Illinois a 90% chance of victory.

• Indiana Hoosiers
• Overall: 94
• Adjusted defensive efficiency: 87
• Adjusted offensive efficiency:106
• Strength of schedule: 33
• Projected record:16-15, 8-12
• Preseason: 49
• Other notable stats: 93rd in effective FG%, 23rd in FT attempt rate, 250th in offensive rebounding %, 66th in assist rate, 79th in 2-point FG%, 316th in FT%, 347th in 3-point FG attempt rate, 305th in defensive 3-point FG attempt rate.
• Illinois Fighting Illini
• Overall: 10
• Adjusted defensive efficiency: 31
• Adjusted offensive efficiency: 7
• Strength of schedule: 47
• Projected record: 22-9, 13-7
• Preseason: 19
• Other notable stats:66th in effective FG%, 16th in offensive rebounding %, 46th in 2-point FG%, 296th in assist rate, 13th in opponent effective FG%, 9th in opponent FT attempt rate, 14th in opponent 2-point FG%.

Meet the coaches

• Brad Underwood, Illinois: Underwood is in his seventh season at Illinois with a128–84 overall record and a 71–54 mark in regular season Big Ten play. After finishing 11th and 10th in the Big Ten his first two seasons, Illinois has finished top five in the Big Ten each of the last four seasons, including a shared Big Ten title in 2021-22. The Illini have reached three NCAA Tournaments with Underwood, but have never made it past the Round of 32. Prior to Illinois, Underwood had a 20-13 record and finished fifth in the Big 12 in his lone season at Oklahoma State. He had an impressive run at Stephen F. Austin, going 89–14 overall, 53–1 in the Southland Conference, winning three conference titles, making three NCAA Tournament appearances and winning two NCAA Tournament games, though the wins in his final two seasons have been vacated by the NCAA due to academic eligibility violations.
• Mike Woodson, Indiana: Woodson is in his third season at Indiana with a 56-33 overall record and a 25-23 mark in regular season Big Ten play. Woodson has NBA head coaching experience with the Atlanta Hawks from 2004-10 and the New York Knicks from 2012-14. Woodson played at Indiana University from 1976-80, and was named the Big Ten's Most Valuable Player as a senior under coach Bob Knight. He was the 12th overall pick in the 1980 NBA Draft, and played for various teams from 1980-91, averaging 14 points over 786 games.

• MEET THE OPPONENT:Now that Terrence Shannon Jr. is back from suspension, Illinois is hoping to contend for another Big Ten title and reach its first Sweet 16 since 2005. Coach Brad Underwood has a versatile team that embodies position-less basketball, creating a unique matchup for Indiana. CLICK HERE
• WARE INJURY UPDATE: After missing Friday's game at Wisconsin with an ankle injury, Indiana's starting center Kel'el Ware's availability is in question for Saturday's game at Illinois. CLICK HERE
• ANSWERING FAN-SUBMITTED QUESTIONS: Indiana is tied for sixth place in the Big Ten, with a crucial upcoming stretch of games against Illinois and Iowa to close out January. Below, we answered questions from Indiana fans on a variety of topics. CLICK HERE
• MCNEELEY NAMED MCDONALD'S ALL-AMERICAN: Before joining coach Mike Woodson's Indiana Hoosiers next season, five-star small forward Liam McNeeley will play in the 2024 McDonald's All-American game. CLICK HERE
• WARE, MGBAKO NBA MOCK DRAFT UPDATE: Indiana center Kel'el Ware and wing Mackenzie Mgbako have been two of the Hoosiers' top scorers this season, and they're being considered for the 2024 NBA draft. Here's a look at their placement on various mock drafts. CLICK HERE
• FISCHER EXPLAINS COMMENTS: After Indiana guard CJ Gunn was ejected from Friday's game at Wisconsin, a 91-79 loss and the second Hoosier ejection in four games, play-by-play announcer Don Fischer said, "I am embarrassed for this ball club. Not because of the score." Fischer joined the 107.5 The Fan radio show with Jake Query on Monday afternoon to further explain his comments. CLICK HERE
• IU LACKS TOURNAMENT-WORTHY RESUME: Following a 91-79 loss at Wisconsin on Friday, Indiana fell to 0-6 against Quad 1 opponents and No. 99 in the NET rankings, an important metric used by the NCAA Tournament committee. The Hoosiers don't have a resume worthy of making the tournament now, and time is running out to change that. CLICK HERE